The Letter
by Sharkwoman
Summary: Yesterday I got a letter from an old friend of mine. It had some words, and a picture. Written for the Artina 2010 Ficathon.


Hey ya'll!

So I decided to participate in the Artina Ficathon. 'Course, I ended up signing up super late, so the gracious Ms. **troubadette** extended my deadline, which was yesterday. I'm terribly late, I'm sorry.

Prompt (given by **troubadette **herself): Based off the song "The Letter" by Midnight Youth. Interpret this however you like, it doesn't need to be a songfic (in fact I'd prefer if it wasn't) but basically just have a listen to the song, read the lyrics and see what you come up with. Feel free to stray from the narrative of the song as much as you like, just use it as a starting point.

This came out a bit messy, I've been crazy busy for the past couple of months. Hopefully it came out alright.

* * *

_Dear Artie-_

_I know it's been a while since we last talked_. _And maybe after all that's happened_, _you don't really want to keep in touch anymore._

_But if you still want to catch up, my grandparents are letting me stay at their condo at Atlanta Beach this summer (remember, the one we all went to during spreak break of junior year?). If you weren't busy or anything during that time, maybe you could come down and visit me. If you don't, I completely understand, what with your job and everything._

_Anyway, take care. Hopefully I'll see you in a couple of months_

_- Tina_

Artie sat in his bedroom and stared at the letter in his hand. Like a bad cliché, he had read it so many times, he knew the words by heart. In his other hand, he held the attached photo. The picture featured Tina smiling uncertainly at the camera. She had definitely matured over the years, and the color streaks were gone. Her once-long, sleek black hair was cut down to her shoulders, and he could tell from the photo that she wasn't into the Goth look the way she was back in high school. Still, everything else about her was still there, in that photo. The self-conscious air hadn't disappeared from her years as a teen, but neither had the strength in her eyes.

Ten years.

Since then, they had virtually no contact with each other. Has she known his address this whole time? What else did she know? It angered him that not only could she have contacted him all this time, but that she had waited so long to do it. _If I had known anything, I would've called her in a heartbeat back then_.

He shook off his anger. It was all in the past now, none of it mattered anymore. _She_ didn't matter anymore. He had settled into a new life now in Chicago, working as a computer programmer by day and sometimes going out with his friends to play guitar at the local bar gigs. Artie still kept in contact with Mercedes, Kurt, and Finn via emails and phone calls, but it'd been a while since he'd seen any of them in person. His job was good, paid well, and he lived a comfortable life with Chicago's easily-accessible handicapable facilities. Artie's few flings with two or three girls didn't last past the fourth date, mainly because he couldn't be bothered by serious relationship.

Actually, he didn't want to bother with a serious relationship. Call him a romantic or just plain pathetic, but he hadn't wanted to have another relationship ever since he and Tina parted ways.

With this letter in his hand, a whole medley of emotions ruptured up inside him. Sadness. Joy. Trepidation. But mainly fear.

Artie _adapts_. He hates sudden change, yet ironically enough, his life's been full of it. After the car accident nineteen years ago, he spent years afterwards slowly adjusting to the change. Tina, the one person he thought he could connect to through their disabilities, never had anything truly wrong with her. It was all an act. Every word that came out of Tina's mouth flawlessly from there afterward, Artie got used to that too. Then he and Tina had split up, and that had been the worst change to adapt to.

Artie didn't want to go down and visit her and risk the possibility of another change. He _couldn't_.

He shoved the letter into his nightside drawer and tried to sleep. It wasn't half that easy to forget about it.

For the next couple of months, Artie would get up, go to work, and live with his normal routine. As summer approached, he found himself slowing everything down, like he was trying to keep make time stop to a standstill.

In April, Artie got a call. "Hello?"

"Artie!"

"Mercedes!" Artie was surprised but happy to hear from one of his old friends. "How's it going? How's your clothing line doing? I heard you were traveling all the way to New York to debut your newest collection!"

"Everything's doing _great_, I never dreamed I'd actually make it this far!" Mercedes gushed. Totally neglecting his work, Artie and Mercedes kept up their conversation for another good hour until -

"Artie, did you get Tina's letter?"

Artie felt a wierd jolt in his stomach. Not the good kind. "Um...yes."

A pregnant pause. "Were you going to...respond or anything?" When Artie didn't say anything, she continued. "I've been talking to the girl for years-" at this, Artie felt the familiar flash of anger he felt when he first got the letter. _So I'm not worth talking to?_ "-and I know she was fighting with herself for months before sending anything, and ever since then, she's been practically killing herself with worry about whether she did the right thing." At this, Artie snorted. "Well, not in so many words. But I can tell from her voice that she's scared-"

Artie cut in. "Scared? Of what? She's not a teenager anymore, Mercedes. We're adults now, there's no reason why she should be so _scared _of some guy she used to date in high school. Most high school relationship don't last, and ours wasn't the exception to that. She needs to move on. I know I have." Artie tried to fight the bitterness that had been creeping up in his little speech, but he knew Mercedes could catch onto anything.

"Listen, Wheels, this ain't about moving on from some high school romance, it's about meeting up with someone who used to be your best friend. You guys were inseperable, and it's about time you guys at least talk things out. I'm planning a Glee reunion when I get back to Orlando, and I do _not_ want any stupid high school drama getting in the way. So you better get your computer-programming white ass down there."

Artie rolled his eyes, not caring that Mercedes couldn't see it. "Fine, I'll think about it. Can we please talk about something else?" Mercedes reluctantly complied, but when Artie began prodding her for gossip about the rest of the old Glee crowd, she happily ran him down with details about how Quinn was getting married to some guy she met at her bible study in Lima, Rachel had just signed a contract for Broadway to star in "Wicked", and Puck had moved to Texas to coach a high-ranking college football team.

After exchanging goodbyes and promising to send each other more emails (that last call was _way_ too expensive), Artie felt revitalized. _Maybe meeting up with Tina won't be too bad..._

Still, he tried to resist the coming months until June arrived. He packed his suitcase, boarded the plane, and waited quietly in the cab driving him to the condo. His heart caught in his throat when he saw her leaning against the white fencing, her back facing him.

As he approached her and watched her looking out into the ocean, something caught in his throat. What if he wasn't what she wanted anymore? What if they'd both changed too much since then? And what if she just wasn't that same girl Artie knew? He couldn't bring himself to call out to her, his brain was blocking his mouth from opening. _Oh God, just do something. Anything._ He still couldn't bring himself to say anything when-

"You know, your chair is a lot louder than you think it is."

Artie found his words. "Tina."

She turned around and smiled.

_Maybe we could be alright this time._

* * *

I didn't expand on what had happened between Tina and Artie in the past because I felt it wasn't necessary in context with the story.

I'll be looking over this story again and no doubt editing it a huge amount, mainly because I find that waiting a for a little bit and then editing always helps. For the sake of the deadline though, I posted this story up right away.

Anyway, please review!

-Cristina


End file.
